Loss and legacy marked the music world in 2016

This photo combination shows performances by pop music icons, from left, Prince in 1985, David Bowie in 1995, and George Michael in 2008. The entertainers were among a number of influential entertainers, sports stars and political figures who died in 2016. (AP Photos)(Photo: AP)

It may have been a political year that brought dramatic shifts for America’s future. But 2016 was a musical year very much about looking back.

My perspective here may be somewhat skewed by circumstance: With Detroit’s 100 Greatest Songs, a months-long Free Press project, a big chunk of my 2016 was spent immersed in six decades of Motor City music history.

But there’s no getting around the reality that the enormous, ongoing loss in the world of popular music meant that reflection and reminiscing became a regular, uninvited routine for many of us.

Some of the fallen figures were relatively young, still creatively dynamic. In all cases, the impact of loss was amplified by the collective grief and adulation that dominated social media.

Close to home, we lost Detroit rock scribe Ben Edmonds, a longtime Free Press freelancer, along with songwriters Robert Bateman (“Please Mr. Postman”) and Sir Mack Rice (“Mustang Sally”). In March, Detroit said goodbye to bassist James Jamerson Jr.; in June, to P-Funk’s Bernie Worrell; in November, to rocker Eddie Harsch.

Some of the big-name deaths also had unique local resonance: Prince’s unexpected April passing brought reports of tearful breakdowns in coffee shops and other public spots in Detroit, the first city to have embraced the funk-pop virtuoso outside his Minneapolis hometown. The January death of Frey, a Royal Oak native and Eagles cofounder, prompted an outpouring of tributes from Michigan fans and friends such as Bob Seger.

There were certainly timely musical statements in 2016 — efforts to make sense of a topsy-turvy social-political climate while giving definition to the zeitgeist. Beyonce’s Super Bowl performance and subsequent “Lemonade” album was a bold, emotional take on the state of black America, while artists ranging from Chance the Rapper to Drive-By Truckers issued their own piercingly topical and relevant work.

Still, the ultimate story of 2016 wasn't what we gained, but who we lost.

Amid the celebration at her 75th birthday party in July, Martha Reeves took a moment to humbly acknowledge her status as “one of the survivors” in a Motown Records family that has endured its own share of loss. It’s important, she said, that we value and honor the artists we love while they’re still here.

The artists who passed away in 2016 left legacies that will outlive all of us. But Reeves was right: As much as death compels us to look back and pay tribute, it's also a reminder not to take for granted what we have, while we've got it.